| Gleanings From My Readings |
GLEANINGS
Where Is Your Church?
Where Are You? Where
Am I?
by Dr. Glenn Mathews
Where Are You? Where
Am I?
by Dr. Glenn Mathews
About a half an eon ago, when I worked for the West Virginia
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, I took several courses in
Counseling, Deafness, Psychiatric Rehab, etc. The textbook of
one course dealt with “The Psychology of Careers.” Although I
have long since lost that book, I can remember that a professor in
Teachers College at Columbia University wrote it. In that book,
the author profiled the average vocational career of the average
person. While I cannot be precise, (my memory is still good, but
my ‘forgettory” is improving with age), I remember enough to
share these thoughts with you and to make comparison of the
secular working world with the SPIRITUAL LIFE of the average
church and/or Christian.
As a youth, a person begins his vocational life with
EXPLORATION. He/she takes what is available, e.g., cutting
grass, delivering papers, baby-sitting, part-time at a store, etc. By
the time of high school graduation, a person has decided on what
direction to pursue. If the CHOICE requires specific training,
then the person goes into college, technical school or serves an
apprenticeship. Once the chosen direction is determined, the
person gets started in that career field. Eventually,
ESTABLISHMENT is morphed into ADVANCEMENT.
Improved skills and dedicated efforts result in what is often called
“moving up the corporate ladder.” Those years are generally
before age 45. Around that time, the average person realizes that
they will not advance much higher, and so they unconsciously
move into what is called the MAINTENANCE mode. As the
person’s interest and efforts begin to wane and they experience
DECLINE. Finally, there is RETIREMENT. When a person is
in either the maintenance or decline mode, they tend to become
protective of their position. They resist any changes that they
perceive as a threat to their security. In short, they don’t want to
make waves – or have anyone else make waves!
The parallel between vocation and spiritual life ought to be coming
into focus. We begin the new spiritual life with a great burst of
enthusiasm and expectation. I remember hearing one new convert
pray “Lord I want to be the best Christian that there ever was.”
Sadly, he never became that person – in fact, he dropped out of
church within a few weeks. Whether or not he was genuinely
born again is not the subject for this article. The average church
starts with rapid growth in the first few weeks and months. The
same is true of the average new convert. They eagerly
EXPLORE areas of Christian service. Usually, within a short
period of time, they ADVANCE and become involved in some
kind of ministry, e.g., choir, Sunday school, youth or visitation
programs. Over time, the emotional aspect of their Christian life
subsides, and they, without being aware of it, move into
MAINTENANCE. There are many such Churches and
individuals who are not thriving, but are merely maintaining.
Even worse, many are in decline. Eventually, there is retirement–
and we know what follows that is death.
Take time to evaluate your local church and your own spiritual
life. Are you advancing? Maintaining? Declining? Have you
retired? Perhaps I will write more along this line at a later date.
Right now I must stop and take inventory of my own life and
ministry. I want to do what Paul said he did in Philippians 3:
13,14. I hope you will do the same.
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, I took several courses in
Counseling, Deafness, Psychiatric Rehab, etc. The textbook of
one course dealt with “The Psychology of Careers.” Although I
have long since lost that book, I can remember that a professor in
Teachers College at Columbia University wrote it. In that book,
the author profiled the average vocational career of the average
person. While I cannot be precise, (my memory is still good, but
my ‘forgettory” is improving with age), I remember enough to
share these thoughts with you and to make comparison of the
secular working world with the SPIRITUAL LIFE of the average
church and/or Christian.
As a youth, a person begins his vocational life with
EXPLORATION. He/she takes what is available, e.g., cutting
grass, delivering papers, baby-sitting, part-time at a store, etc. By
the time of high school graduation, a person has decided on what
direction to pursue. If the CHOICE requires specific training,
then the person goes into college, technical school or serves an
apprenticeship. Once the chosen direction is determined, the
person gets started in that career field. Eventually,
ESTABLISHMENT is morphed into ADVANCEMENT.
Improved skills and dedicated efforts result in what is often called
“moving up the corporate ladder.” Those years are generally
before age 45. Around that time, the average person realizes that
they will not advance much higher, and so they unconsciously
move into what is called the MAINTENANCE mode. As the
person’s interest and efforts begin to wane and they experience
DECLINE. Finally, there is RETIREMENT. When a person is
in either the maintenance or decline mode, they tend to become
protective of their position. They resist any changes that they
perceive as a threat to their security. In short, they don’t want to
make waves – or have anyone else make waves!
The parallel between vocation and spiritual life ought to be coming
into focus. We begin the new spiritual life with a great burst of
enthusiasm and expectation. I remember hearing one new convert
pray “Lord I want to be the best Christian that there ever was.”
Sadly, he never became that person – in fact, he dropped out of
church within a few weeks. Whether or not he was genuinely
born again is not the subject for this article. The average church
starts with rapid growth in the first few weeks and months. The
same is true of the average new convert. They eagerly
EXPLORE areas of Christian service. Usually, within a short
period of time, they ADVANCE and become involved in some
kind of ministry, e.g., choir, Sunday school, youth or visitation
programs. Over time, the emotional aspect of their Christian life
subsides, and they, without being aware of it, move into
MAINTENANCE. There are many such Churches and
individuals who are not thriving, but are merely maintaining.
Even worse, many are in decline. Eventually, there is retirement–
and we know what follows that is death.
Take time to evaluate your local church and your own spiritual
life. Are you advancing? Maintaining? Declining? Have you
retired? Perhaps I will write more along this line at a later date.
Right now I must stop and take inventory of my own life and
ministry. I want to do what Paul said he did in Philippians 3:
13,14. I hope you will do the same.
| PO Box 145 ~ Charleston, WV 25321 ~ (910) 948-4307 ~ glennandfleta@juno.com |
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| PO Box 145 ~ Charleston, WV 25321 ~ (910) 948-4307 ~ glennandfleta@juno.com |